Atop the Fourth Wall

"Atop the Fourth Wall" was always a fairly gimmicky, but still unique, concept: the Nostalgia Critic, but with comic books. And like the Nostalgia Critic, AT4W experienced a slow, withering decline over the years as it's haphazardly tried and failed to keep up with the times.

Akin to most of the Channel Awesome Criticsphere shows, you can look back on an early AT4W video then look at a more recent one and not discern much meaningful change in the way the main content is presented. Lewis Lovhaug, in his fictitious persona Linkara, basically sits in his basement and commentates over scans of bad comic books, makes jokes and one-liners here and there in a gratingly nasal voice, before declaring his final opinion. Although, there is one thing you will definitely notice has changed for the worse...

Those obnoxious storylines! In another uncanny reflection of the Nostalgia Critic's fall from grace due to an overreliance on cutaway gags, AT4W has basically been ruined by Lovhaug's insistence that each video has to tie in to some ridiculous, nonsensical sci-fi storyline that usually has absolutely nothing to do with the comic review at hand. I find it funny how Linkara can have the gall to mock bad writing in his comic books, but is completely un-self-aware to the atrocious quality of his own little storylines.

Worse, Lewis always portrays the Linkara character as an awesome gun-toting Marty Stu who goes around defeating supervillains in a spaceship with a quirky cast of robot sidekicks and whatnot. You can really tell that Lewis regards these narrative segments as a big draw to his videos, but they're really not -- most people just skip to the actual review, because that's understandably what they'd rather be watching. They're just too embarrassing to sit through, and I'm sure Lewis will feel the same way in many years time (not that he learned from his attempts to write a superhero webcomic and Pokemon fanfiction). While I applaud his efforts to experiment, I think he should either try something else or just stick to the original thing.

What I will say in the show's favour is that there's at least a great variety of comics reviewed -- it's not just the standard Marvel/DC fare, and Lewis manages to get hold of some really obscure and interesting titles. Not only that, but AT4W is one of the only notable Criticsphere review (they're more like overviews, really) shows that showcases both good and bad media. A break from the whinging and nitpicking is refreshing. Some of Lewis's diary insights that accompany his videos in the descriptions are also quite fun to read through. So overall, AT4W isn't bad, as I'll still stick on a video when I feel in the mood, but the flaws are increasingly hard to ignore.

I understand that what I think of is subjective and against the grain of the norm, but I love and (still love) Atop the Fourth Wall. Unlike his contemporaries during the Channel Awesome era which focused on tearing down movies of specific criteria, medium or genre, Linkara takes a more analytical approach towards comic books and the media associated with it. While the earlier episodes are a bit harder to watch due to his amateur acting and fake anger, Linkara is at his best when he mellows out and provide genuine emotion in his work when the emotions are justified. As someone who is trying to create comics, Lewis feels inspiring for me to watch so I can better understand how to work with this complex medium.

He's not without criticism though. I don't care much for his melodramatic storylines but he is aware enough nowadays to make those optional to follow. They're not nostalgia Critic levels of bad, but, again, I don't care much for them. I do wish that he could focus more on third-party and indie-published comics and less on the mainstream giants like DC or Marvel. I understand that he was raised on both companies (DC in particular), but I feel like there's untapped potential being wasted here.

But all in all, Linkara always was my favorite from Channel Not-Awesome and still is.

I have read very few comic books in my life. This is mainly because the comic and it's heroes must, with exceptions I am sure, continue on forever.

As new generations of fans keep coming along and with most veteran writers not wanting to repeat themselves and the character being passed along from writer to writer the characters will often exist only as physical shells as their personalities, their powers and even their stories and lives are inconsistent to the point where only the name and sometimes their face are recognisable.

Because of this comic book fans can find the names of the writers and artists very easily, usually, should they find a writer or artist that represents these characters the best... or worst.

Atop The Fourth Wall comes in.

Lewis Lovhaug plays his own character called Linkara. I was extremely sceptical about this - how does somebody act like a reviewer? Does the writer write their own thoughts on something or do they make them up for the character? I would rather have an honest opinion.

I was reminded at this stage by my own usernames in the various forums I have been a part of over the years and that, even though I have made up my name and certainly have not put a face to my words it was still myself speaking. I might not act quite the same since I am in a different social environment but I am still me.

Luckily for myself Linkara does not seem to have much of a character; I do not mean to say that Linkara is boring I simply mean that Linkara, for the review, is mostly Lewis. Linkara's story is often told through a video series that plays after the credits at the end of an episode, you can choose whether or not you would like to follow the story of Linkara.

I am not interested in the character in my honest opinion however, the story of Linkara is a popular element of the show. I can not tell you if the story is well written or not since I have not followed it. I can say it will not ruin your experience if you choose not to be involved. Suffice to say, for me, Linkara himself does not hold any weight with the only exception being that I do love to see the consistent costumes and sets - it really makes you feel like Lewis is putting on a show.

Now I have addressed Linkara I will address the show.

Lewis manages to find, or is sent, some of the most obscure, obscene, confusing, annoying, hilarious, facetious and awful stories that you can imagine exist; this works in the opposite way to reality in a very general sense: the worst the comic the better the review. Buried by their obscurity; often helped by age, exists a treasure trove of stories that you will never have been able to come across otherwise.

Lewis's examination of these stories is thorough. Through him you will see the stories as the characters themselves would but with a far wider view of the world. As Lewis reviews you will likely be relieved that all the problems you used to notice, big or small, are a problem for other people as well.

You will be given a unique perspective on some very unique situations. Lewis will notice things that make you laugh, make you angry and you will find yourself noticing something you would have not have found on your own. The depth and interest Lewis pays to the material is often impressive.

Lewis is able to step back and think about consistency as well as context and seemingly cares more about the story than the writers themselves did, taking it in whilst remaining critical and interested.

I agree that Lewis is not a comedian yet he is hilarious. Lewis's meticulous review style will throw you into these stories first hand and you will often find yourself laughing at his criticism of the problems as they occur as his voice and wording suggests to you the level of absurdity. Lewis is first to point out irony and inconsistency and put it in a context that is, itself, hilarious. Lewis uses the story and characters and approaches them with a clear mind as he lets them make fun of themselves and fall apart before his eyes.

This is not to say that Lewis does not write jokes but his biggest strength relies on your immersion in the characters and story. Lewis is armed with a library of appropriate and hilarious video and music responses to about anything that can happen. You often wonder how he can remember where to find each of these lines in the heaps of seasons and episodes he must have to dig through.

Lewis also has a great stage presence. Even though he will act out a lot of emotions for comic effect you never get the impression he is desperate for laughs, Lewis seems to really enjoy himself whether he is, ironically, suffering through dismal comic or laughing his way through a fun one. Lewis even voices all of the dialogue in fitting voices that he'll remember and assign to that character or type of character should they turn up again.

Overall Atop The Forth Wall is a show you should really experience, I dare say, especially if you are not a fan of comic books because you will not be prepared for what you'll see in these stories.

I have found so little wrong with my experience of the show that I have to give it an 8/10. I can not rate it higher because I have not gotten involved in Linkara's story and I have not ever found a perfect show. With this, though, you'll wonder if it could get much more professional.

I remember when Lewis had started doing his comic book reviews. There was actual care put into the reviews because there were actual reviews. he would talk about the comic book. He'd talk about the artist or the panels. He'd actually comment on what was going on and give a genuine review. But as time went on, and his fan base started growing the reviews started getting less insightful and more insufferable. Instead of talking about the comments he'd just make a snide comment about a panel or do a bit of a riff on it.

And then came the skits. They started small but eventually grew into arcs that lasted an entire season. It started be less about the comic books and more about Lewis' Mary Sue insert called Linkara. Such a cool guy. He's not only got a magic gun, morpher, Star Trek weapons but robots and a bloody spaceship. Yes you heard me right, he's got a spaceship. This is because he's supposed to be the hero of this reality. He's fought evil space warlords, missing numbers, pyramid head and other nonsensical beings.

I honestly gave up on this show a long time ago.

I find the character Linkara to me extremely entertaining, and very funny. He is one of the most talented reviewers I've seen. He hooked me, someone who reads one or two comics per year, into a show all about comics that suck. His reviews tend to be more analytic than comedy. The show laughs at the bad qualities of the comics, while Linkara also talks about why this comic doesn't work for him. He gets worked up about the particularly bad ones, but to me that's part of the comedy, seeing a guy get angry over a stupid comic. But, part of the anger is real. He really enjoys comics, so, understandably, it annoys him when bad comics are made.

The story lines of the show itself are rather awesome. Lewis has to spend a lot of time thinking thinking them up. They always are a nice addition to a review, such as my favorite storyline (which extended from "Kamandi At Earth" to "Pokemon: The Electric Tale of Pikachu"). The story had a Halloween-mystery theme to it that I enjoyed. The AT4W plots are not necessary to enjoy the individual reviews, but they are an interesting and fun extra.

All in all, it's a great show. Of course there's a few episodes that I don't like, but I enjoy an overwhelming majority of the episodes. Personally, I find the episodes reviewing PSA comics the best. If you're interested, I recommend the month of May 2012 reviews, since he devoted it completely to PSA comics.